Outer islands outbreak spurs vaccine rush
CORONAVIRUS cases are starting to ease in the nation’s main Java island but are spreading fast in its outer regions, spurring a rush for vaccination amid a limited supply.
Christianto Senda, who lives in the mountainous town of Mollo in East Nusa Tenggara province, made the trip to a local health facility for his second jab, only to find that there weren’t enough doses available.
The entrepreneur, who has made almost daily calls to check if new shots have arrived, is now weeks late for his scheduled dose.
Senda is one of millions of Indonesians living in the outer islands fighting for Covid-19 vaccines as infections rise.
Almost half of new daily cases are now found outside of the most populated island of Java, which is home to 60% of Indonesians and has the largest concentration of wealth.
The nation, which already tops the world’s daily count of Covid-19 deaths, risks a worsening outbreak as the disease spreads to areas with less-equipped healthcare systems and lower vaccination coverage.
“My worry is that people’s enthusiasm will turn into apathy,” said Senda, who runs a social enterprise programme called Lakoat Kujawas.
“Many walked for hours or paid for expensive transport to get the vaccine. Maybe they will try a few more times. But after a while, people might give up altogether.”
The capital Jakarta is starting to require people to show proof of vaccination when leaving their homes, as 78% of its population have gotten at least the first dose.
In East Kalimantan, where daily cases are catching up to Jakarta’s numbers, just 15% have had their first shots, said the health ministry.
That figure is 11% in East Nusa Tenggara, a collection of islands located to the east of Bali.
Local media reported stops-andstarts in East and South Kalimantan’s inoculation due to a lack of supply, while hundreds of people tried to break through a steel gate in the North Sumatran city of Medan while screaming for vaccines.
The government faces the tough challenge of chasing a moving goalpost. It has focused on inoculating Java and Bali, as those areas still report the highest number of deaths, and called on local leaders to prioritise giving the limited supply of vaccines for the most vulnerable people, including the elderly and those with comorbidities.
As countries like Germany and the United Kingdom prepare to give booster shots to their already inoculated people, most of the world haven’t even received their first dose.
About 8% of Indonesia’s 270 million people are fully vaccinated, compared to half in the United States.
The country expects to get more vaccine shipments this month and the next, with 300 million doses set to arrive through December.
A government survey conducted in July showed that most Indonesians want to get vaccinated against Covid-19.